Stormy Daniels: Porn star politics

It's tempting to dismiss former porn star Stormy Daniels as an "unserious Senate candidate—even by Louisiana's standards," said Anne Schroeder Mullins in Politico. But Daniels has jumped through every hoop necessary so far by establishing an exploratory committee and a going on a "summer listening tour." All that's left is to officially declare that she's challenging Republican Sen. David Vitter, who's got his own sexual past to overcome.

It's hard to believe a "porn star turned Louisiana Democratic Senate hopeful" really has a shot, said Michelle Cottle in The New Republic. But Stormy Daniels may be the "smarter cookie" in the race. After all, she made a nice living exploiting men's "ungovernable urges." Sen. David Vitter, "erstwhile prostitute lover," put his marriage and political career at risk simply by hiring "some working girl to handle his urges."

Stormy Daniels is the first to acknowledge that her candidacy would look "ludicrous" to an outsider, said BayouBuzz.com. But Sen. David Vitter is taking no chances, raising money frantically and casting himself as the "anti-Obama and the anti-liberal senator," even though no major Democrat has "definitively surfaced" to oppose him. The question is whether Daniels really wants to run, or just shame an experienced Democrat into stepping up to the plate.